Be Certain upsets Planets Aligned in National Hunt Cup

Alnoff Stable's BE CERTAIN (Thunder Gulch), recently crowned champion New

York-bred steeplechaser of 2007, just outdueled heavy favorite Planets Aligned

(Gold Fever) to win the $75,000 Mellon National Hunt Cup (NSA-G2) at the Radnor

Hunt Races Saturday.

The two horses completed a Tom Voss-trained one-two sweep and finished

together as Be Certain rallied in the final yards to edge his more accomplished

stablemate by a head. Matt McCarron rode the winner, who scored for the third

time in six career steeplechase starts and covered the 2 3/8 miles in 4:54. The

Price of Love (Prenup) finished third in the eight-horse field.

Be Certain sat off a quick early pace set by Sunshine Numbers (Polish

Numbers) and moved to second when Planets Aligned took over at the top of the

stretch. Second over both fences in the stretch, Be Certain gradually closed on

Planets Aligned and got up in the final strides.

McCarron, on board for the first time, was impressed with his horse's

determination late.

"He was as game as he could be," McCarron said. "He's a horse with limited

experience, he's running against a real class horse in Planets Aligned who

tightened it up on us coming to the last fence. For a four-year-old to pick up

for me, lock on to the other horse and dig in again is pretty special."

Bred by Sugar Maple Farm, Be Certain made two flat starts in state-bred

maiden company last year, placing seventh and eighth for trainer Roger Horgan

before being transferred to Voss' barn with jump racing in mind. The chestnut

finished third in his debut and won his second start last November. He came into

the Radnor race off an allowance victory at the Virginia Gold Cup May 3.

The National Hunt Cup completed the Steeplechase Triple Crown with three

horses gaining victories -- Imagina (Chi) (Great Regent) in the Carolina Cup

(NSA-G2) March 29 and Planets Aligned in the Temple Gwathmey (NSA-G2) April 19.

Arthur Arundel's MONTE BIANCO (Ire) (King of Kings [Ire]) won

the co-feature, the $40,000 Bellevue Radnor Hunt Cup, over timber for trainer

Jack Fisher and jockey Xavier Aizpuru.